The invention addresses a handle unit for a moving part of a vehicle, in particular for a door or a hatch, having a moving handle element for opening and/or closing a lock provided on the moving part, a lock cylinder, which is protected toward the exterior by means of a covering cap, and an attachment element, on which the covering cap is releasably disposed, wherein the attachment element has at least one elastic snap-fit hook and the covering cap has at least one snap-fit recess, and wherein the at least one snap-fit hook is designed such that it is complementary to the at least one snap-fit recess, and with which it engages when the covering cap is in a snap-in position.
A handle unit of the type described above is known, for example, from DE 10 2008 031 218. A modern handle unit of this type for door or hatches of a vehicle is mainly operated via electronic means using radio, infrared or RFID technology. As a result, the conventional mechanical lock cylinder of the handle unit is only of secondary importance. Furthermore, there are keyless-go systems, which render even the use of the remote control for the locking system via a transmitter key superfluous.
In the event of a power failure, or other electronic disruptions in the motor vehicle, there must still be a possibility for opening the motor vehicle without electronic means as well. For this reason, lock cylinders are still provided on at least the driver door, which are, however, very rarely operated with a mechanical key on a handle unit of this type. In order to protect the lock cylinder, and to cover it from the exterior, covering caps are known, which are releasably attached to the handle unit or the cylinder housing of the lock cylinder. The covering caps cover the lock cylinder toward the exterior of the handle unit, or the door of the vehicle, respectively, and must then be removed or dismantled when the door or the hatch must be opened by the lock cylinder with a mechanical key. A tool is usually necessary to dismantle the covering cap, which in many cases is implemented by the mechanical key. When the covering cap is dismantled from the handle unit, there is the problem that the covering cap is released from the handle unit in an uncontrolled manner, and is moved thereby toward the door or the hatch, or toward the body panel of the door or hatch, and strikes against it, which may result in damage to the paint and/or the panel.
The invention assumes the objective of creating a solution that provides a handle unit in a simple and economical manner, which prevents the problem of damaging the vehicle panel known from the prior art, and by means of which an improved attachment to a part of the handle unit is enabled.